Originality subject to creativity

Final Blog Submission

In the five blog posts I submit as my best, I have offered a reflective discussion on remix culture and its most significant aspects, which I put forward as an overview in my Introduction to Remix Culture. This brief and general start-place for the exploration of remix culture defines the practice under the notion that everything is a copy; that all instances of artwork appropriate ideas from something else to be transformed into something new; that nothing is ‘original’, but rather an evolution from the already produced. Furthermore, this post presents the establishing foundations for a discussion as to the communities involved in remix culture – it is a world-encompassing phenomenon – and the implications thereof in regards to the statutory restrictions and penalties (a safeguard for copyright owners or a hindrance to artists) imposed upon this definition of creativity. As for my second post, I wish to submit it as the three In Focus pieces (regarding the Jamaican Influence, Video Art, and Negativland) I wrote which evidence the history, communities, and the tools of remix, and their affordances as one complete dialogue. Each of the In Focus posts articulates an origin of a particular aesthetic in remix culture – from Jamaican beach parties, to YouTube ‘covers’ and produced and distributed records – and the subsequent influence it can have in other demographics of remix culture. The In Focus examples provide an insight into the different methods of recreating ‘original’ work and the implications it can have, whether it be stereotyping, removed videos, subsequent and damaging law suits, or a position working with the copyright licensees to continue creating remixes but legally. Making Art and Commerce Thriveand Free Culture and Creative Commons are the third and fourth blog posts I submit. Both take on the understanding of lawyer and political activist Lawrence Lessig’s writting in regards to reforming the restrictions remix culture faces in today’s media-heavy and commercially driven society. These submissions look towards a promotion of ‘free culture’ wherein a system that encourages remix culture and its subsequent distribution of art can be crafted. A system which provides artist recognition, but does not criminalise the notion of appropriation and transformation with harsh laws that make it almost undesirable to be apart of the remix community. The final post I submit is titled Situationists and Brandalismwhich discusses how we, as consumers, act and are targeted by corporations in our generation of remix culture. It articulates why we have immersed ourselves into remix for reasons other than artistic creativity; to join the conversation and to reflect on the implications of our culture.

The blog posts I have chosen to submit discuss and reflect upon the key themes of remix culture as I have explored it this semester. My submissions demonstrate my insight and understanding of how remix culture is defined, viewed and adapted, how we can create and appropriate materials to make it original and authored to our own voices and aesthetics, and the limitations that may affect this.